Israel’s defence minister on Tuesday signalled that his military is prepared to strike shipments of advanced Russian weapons to Syria, in a rare implied threat to Moscow. Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon issued his warning shortly after a top Russian official said his government reserves the right to provide Syria with state-of-the-art S-300 air defence missiles.

Japan is close to signing an agreement to supply amphibious planes to India, a report said yesterday, in what would be the first sale of hardware used by the military since a weapons export ban was imposed.

A big rise in defence spending by China's neighbours could easily be interpreted as an arms race to counter Beijing's military expansion. Increased tension over territorial disputes in the East and South China seas and along the frontier with India seemingly support such thinking. Add in the United States' renewed interest in Asia and the impression could readily be given of a region hurtling towards conflict, perhaps even war. The reality is anything but; while in some countries there are doubts and suspicions, what is taking place is modernisation, not sabre-rattling in readiness for hostilities.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first UN treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade yesterday, a goal sought for over a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organised crime.

India, the world's leading importer of weaponry, opened one of Asia's biggest aviation trade shows on Wednesday, with Western suppliers eyeing lucrative deals and a Chinese delegation attending for the first time.

Customs officers have seized a stash of weapons and suspected fake items worth HK$2.7 million bound for India from a vessel entering Hong Kong from the mainland.

A department spokesman said that officers seized 1,000 pepper sprays, 50 stun guns, 400 knuckle-dusters and 250 extendible batons from a cargo container on Saturday, on a vessel coming to the city from Guangzhou.

China yesterday reiterated its opposition to provisions in a United States defence bill that allow sales of F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan and acknowledge Japan's administration of the disputed Diaoyu Islands.

A preliminary deal for the sale of 24 advanced Russian Su-35 jet fighters to the People's Liberation Army indicates the technological hurdles China faces in developing its own J-20, especially in terms of engine technology, military analysts say.